by Lisa Kessler
“It tingles.” Her smile faded, and her lips kissed Zafrina’s fingertip. “Thank you.”
They sat on the deck chairs, overlooking the ocean, and Lori rested her warm hand on Zafrina’s. “I’m really glad the baby is healthy and you’re all right. I…” She turned toward the water, her gaze distant. “I’ve never met anyone who made me feel like I had butterflies in my stomach before.”
Zafrina frowned. “This is a good thing?”
Lori’s eyes met hers, and Zafrina warmed inside. “It’s a great thing. I hope now that the baby is here you won’t be going back to Cozumel. Not yet anyway.”
Zafrina shrugged. “I had not considered what comes next.”
“At least stay for the wedding.”
“Not for the wedding.” Zafrina shook her head and lifted Lori’s hand to her lips. “For you, lioness.”
Calisto came through the French doors, and Zafrina glanced up at the tall Spaniard. “The Fraternidad monks are gone?”
He nodded. “Kate and I wiped their memories clean of the child and this place.” He rested his forearms on the railing of the deck, watching the water. “No doubt the monsignor will send more eventually, but we are safe for now.”
Zafrina got up and stood beside him. “Until we hear from Issa, we still need to be on guard. Apep could be anywhere.”
Calisto glanced her way. “Lukas told me they were planning to trap the God of Chaos.”
“We do not know if they were successful.”
He nodded and turned to Lori. “Thank you for helping Gretchen today. We owe you our lives.”
Lori raised her hands with a little shake of her head. “Gretchen did all the heavy lifting. I just bought time with our unwelcome guest until you all woke up.”
“It was more than most would have done. You and Edie have my gratitude.”
Zafrina pulled her hair back behind her ear. “I was wrong about this wedding you have been planning.”
He raised a brow. “How so?”
“I saw no point in planning for the future. If the child did not survive, neither would we. There would be no ceremony. I believed it was wasted energy, but I see now that hope does have power. You gave everyone, including Gretchen, something else to focus on. You and Kate offered all the others a reason to look ahead to the future, confidence.”
Calisto clasped his hands together and stared out at the waves crashing into the sand. “I wish I could claim such selfless motives. The truth is I had decided if the end was coming, I wanted to leave this world with my commitment and my love for her proclaimed. I did not get that chance in our last lifetime together. The devil himself could not steal it from me this time.” He glanced her way with a fire deep in his dark eyes. “If Apep returns for the child, I have every intention of stopping him.”
Zafrina patted his arm. “Hopefully, it will not come to that.”
She focused on the water, wishing she could reach Issa.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Issa pulled in a slow breath as the memory of the previous night wounded him all over again, seeping through his bones, his bloodstream, and finally, stabbing his heart. He didn’t want to open his eyes. He ached for his memories to be nothing more than a nightmarish dream.
Already Kane and Colin reached for his thoughts. Issa shielded his mind. When he’d reached out the night before, he thought he was ending his tortured existence. Now that the decision to persevere had been made, he had no desire to share his torment, and he most definitely did not want to talk about it.
He rose to his feet, steeling himself as best he could. He had to bury her body.
Forcing himself to look down at the bed, he frowned. Her clothes and the bed sheets were covered in vomit and waste. Over the years, he had drained many criminals, drinking until their bodies were empty of blood. But he’d never seen this happen to them. He’d also never coveted their bodies while he slept. Perhaps after he left them behind, this befell their corpses as well.
Carefully, he lifted her from the filth and laid her on the ground. Digging through their supplies, he found three unopened water bottles. He brought them over and tenderly removed her clothes, washing her cool, pale skin clean. After drying her, he retrieved the silk dress he had purchased for her at the market. Bloody tears burned his eyes. Even in death, she radiated a wild, untamable beauty.
Clearing his throat, heart burning in his chest, he carried her toward the stairs. After taking two steps, he stopped abruptly.
He waited. Was his mind playing tricks on him? He could have sworn… Then he heard it again. A heartbeat. Afraid to hope, he brushed a tender kiss to her forehead and whispered her name.
She pulled in a deep breath and opened her eyes. “Is it done? Did it work?”
Issa threw his head back and laughed, tears streaming down his face. Meeting her gaze, he nodded. “Apep is contained in the clay vessel.” He shook his head, still not comprehending she was awake. “I thought I lost you.”
Her hand caressed his cheek, her full lips curving at the corners. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
He kissed her tenderly. “For that, I am eternally grateful.” He carried her up the rest of the stairs, taking two at a time until they stood under the starlit sky. “Look around you, take in the night. Is it different now?”
Muriah stilled for a moment. “You can put me down.”
He didn’t want to. He never wanted to stop touching her, but he complied with her wishes and carefully placed her feet on the ground. Muriah took two steps away from him and turned around in a circle slowly.
She finally faced him with a contagious grin on her face. “I can see everything. And…oh God…I can hear animals burrowing in the sand. And I smell…” She peered down the steps.
Issa took her hand, walking her away from the opening to the tomb. “Your body emptied itself of the remaining humanity in order to be reborn. You are a Night Walker now.”
Her gaze moved slowly up his bare torso. “What did he do to you?”
Issa had forgotten about the burns and cracked skin. His body already worked to repair the wounds, but without fresh blood, the process slowed. “I will heal after I feed.”
“We should find you some blood. Does it hurt?”
His attention had been so focused on her, he hadn’t paid any mind to his injuries. He twisted slightly and grimaced. “Not really.”
“Liar.” She took his hand. “We should get back to Cairo so you can heal up.” Suddenly, her eyes sparkled like the stars above them. “Wait, I almost forgot.”
She vanished and returned to his side with the Egyptian vase, the cell phone, and one of his shirts. He raised a brow, trying not to smile. “I thought you hate the ‘Night Walker speed thing.’”
The sound of her laughter warmed him all over. “It’s different if I can do it myself.”
He took the shirt and slipped his arms inside, buttoning it quickly. His gaze never strayed from her. He never dreamed she could be more beautiful, but with his ancient blood flowing in her veins, Muriah’s dark eyes shimmered with power, and the soft waves of her hair shined even in the dim light of the moon.
Tentatively, he reached out to her with his mind. Can you hear me?
Her jaw slackened for a moment as she nodded. You hear me, too? Without drinking from me?
Taking her hand, his heart pounded. My brother Kane shares a private mental path with his mate because he was her maker. Now I am yours.
So the others still won’t hear me?
I do not know. When we get back to San Diego, we will find out. He glanced at the vase in her hands. Her bare hands.
You are holding the vase without gloves.
Muriah gasped and almost dropped the relic. Issa was suddenly right beside her, his hand supporting the weight underneath. She met his eyes. “Are my powers gone?”
“I do not know.” He kept his grip on the vase. “Try to open your mind. The path for your abilities may be different now that you are no longer mortal.”
She exhaled, controlling her breathing, and closed her eyes as she touched the vase again. Nothing happened. Most of her life, she’d wished she were normal without any psychic curse, so the irony of the disappointment welling in her gut didn’t escape her.
Her powers were gone.
Issa’s voice whispered through her mind. Open yourself mentally to the relic as you do with me.
At first, she had no idea what he meant, but gradually, she pictured the vase and wondered where it had been. Suddenly, historical images flashed through her mind in an onslaught of visuals. She braced herself for the pain, the vise around her skull to tighten, but it never came.
She opened her eyes. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Issa set the vase on the sand beside them and cupped her cheek in his large hand. “Now you control your gift instead of it controlling you.”
She nuzzled into his caress. “None of this would be possible without you.”
He chuckled and kissed her lips slowly. “This was all your idea.”
His voice sounded even richer with her enhanced hearing. She caught herself wondering what else might be even better. As if that were possible.
Issa deepened the kiss, his tongue tangling slowly with hers as his mental voice growled, I have never known a greater temptation.
She hummed into the kiss. Let’s get rid of Apep, then our clothes.
His lips trailed down her neck, making her knees rubbery. “I love the way you think.”
Muriah pulled out the cell phone and called Agent Bale to set up a meeting. She watched Issa’s back while she made the arrangements. Issa looked up at the starry night sky while the wind blew through the silky black curls of his hair like invisible fingers. The angles of his face, his broad shoulders, trim waist, every part of him called to her.
She finished the call, and he turned, his heated gaze locked on hers. Primal heat smoldered low in her belly. Hers. Issa wasn’t just a convenient friend with benefits. He was steadfast at her side. She wanted to pinch herself to be sure she was awake.
He crossed to her and bent to retrieve the vase. “Where are we meeting him?”
“At the safe house in one hour.”
He took her hand with an almost mischievous smile. If a Mayan God could be adorable, he’d just achieved it.
Issa tipped his head back, laughing, and finally met her eyes. “I have never, since the dawn of mankind, been adorable.”
She shrugged, nudging him with her hip as they walked through the sand. “So you say, but I call it as I see it.” Grinning up at him, she slid her hand into his. “What were you being mischievous about?”
“Is that what you thought you saw?”
“I know what I saw… And how come you can keep secrets, but you hear every thought in my head?”
“Because I know when to shield my thoughts.”
“More for me to learn?”
He nodded. “But in answer to your question, I reached out to my brothers, Kane and Colin. When I told them I’d made another, they had many questions. I invited them to meet us in San Diego. They may be at Calisto’s home before we are.”
“You know Lukas is not going to be happy about this, right? He’s still not a fan of no sunshine and immortality in general.”
Issa shrugged. “When he realizes that we had no choice, he will understand.” He brought her hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “And if he chooses to remain angry with me, I can bear it.” He stopped walking. “I hope you will not grow to regret your choice.”
She stared up into his dark eyes. Would she miss the sunshine and the taste of ice cream? Probably. But she was no longer on death’s to-do list. The cancer that stole her mother would never be able to touch her. Her family’s legacy would continue. Forever.
Muriah shook her head slowly. “It’s easy right now to say I won’t miss the sun, but if having it meant not having you, I’d choose you in a heartbeat.”
He brushed a kiss to her forehead, the wisdom in his gaze betraying his true age. “I will remind you of that when the time comes.” Straightening, he rolled his shoulders and released her hand with a spark in his eyes. “Ready to run?”
They reached the safe house in less than five minutes. Muriah had no concept of how many miles they had covered, but it was difficult not to check for some sort of superhero cape hanging off her back.
Issa held the vessel containing Apep’s spirit while she rapped her knuckles against the door. Agent Bale cracked it open, his hand on the butt of his gun. He stared at her for a moment and frowned before unlatching the security chain and opening the door. When she stepped inside, Agent Bale’s voice boomed in her head with legal codes. It was her turn to frown. She rubbed her temple, and Issa’s deep baritone cut through the wall of sound.
Picture a sturdy wall of brick. Use that barrier to surround your mind.
She tried not to focus on how or why it might work, and visualized a tall brick wall as Agent Bale offered chairs around the kitchen table. The more she focused, the more Agent Bale’s voice faded until she barely heard it anymore.
Tentatively, she reached out to Issa. Can you still hear me?
He sat in the chair beside her, never taking his eyes off of the government agent. Yes.
Has he always made that much silent noise?
She thought Issa almost smiled, but it vanished just as quickly. Yes. It is how mortals shield their thoughts from us. I cannot reach his true thoughts. All I hear is the constant repetition.
Annoying.
Issa rubbed his brow, stealing a glance her way. Extremely.
Agent Bale interrupted the conversation he couldn’t hear. “Muriah, you’re…different.”
Issa straightened beside her. Under the table, she brought her hand to rest on his thigh. I can handle this.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean your eyes are like his now. What happened?”
She pushed the vase toward him. “Here’s Apep, just like we discussed. In order to bind his spirit to the vessel, we needed a life in trade for a life. A sacrifice. I was the only mortal available for the job.”
“So this change wasn’t against your will?” His gaze shifted to Issa.
Issa crossed his arms, power radiating from his stiff stature. “Is it so difficult to believe a human might desire immortality?”
“No. But we know you are the god of sacrifice for your people. I don’t think they’re always given a choice in the matter.” Agent Bale shifted his focus to the vase. “It’s my job to protect Americans from paranormal threats. Ms. La Deaux falls under that jurisdiction.”
Issa laughed, but danger brewed in his eyes. “And what would you have done if this change had been against her will?”
“Enough.” Muriah put her hands up, hoping to shut down the testosterone fest building around her. It apparently made no difference if a male was mortal or immortal, pissing contests still abounded. “We just came to drop that off. I’m fine, and you’d better take good care of that bottle. If Apep ever escapes, his wrath isn’t going to be pleasant.”
“We have a storage facility with multiple fail-safes. He won’t get out.”
Issa glared at the agent before turning for the door. Muriah started to follow and stopped. Slowly, she turned toward Agent Bale. “One more thing…”
The agent met her eyes. “Before you start wondering if Issa is holding me hostage or something, I happen to love him.” Surprise flashed on the man’s face for a moment before his trained mask of indifference slid back into place. “And if you simply write him off as the god of sacrifice and nothing more, then you are way off the mark. He’s got more courage, integrity, and heart than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Both men were momentarily speechless. Muriah took Issa’s hand and smiled up at him. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter Thirty
Issa walked down the sand in Pacific Beach, the pier in the distance, holding Muriah’s hand. Would he ever get over the miracle of this woman? Her slen
der fingers twined with his, their joined hands became one. Her words to Agent Bale a few nights earlier echoed through his mind. Until she came into his world, no one had ever defended him. He didn’t need it. There were few beings on this earth that could harm him.
But her desire to protect him still surprised him.
He’d grown accustomed to the fear of others, the wide berth others paid to him since the beginning of time. Yet, Muriah had never been afraid. She’d seen something more inside of him, and her coaxing brought him back from the brink of madness.
Now he would have lifetimes to show his appreciation, to love her.
Getting home from Egypt while only travelling at night had been slow, but he barely noticed. Spending time with her without constantly watching the shadows for Apep and his serpents had been exhilarating.
“Sorry I didn’t feed tonight. Again.”
Her voice snapped him back into the present. “You do not need to apologize.”
“I’m sure it seems dumb to you, but I’ve been human all my life, and my Mom had really strict rules about no biting.”
He smiled down at her. “You have no trouble biting me.”
The sultry way she stared up at him from beneath her lashes sent passion scorching through his veins. “It’s sexy to bite you. And you like it…”
He bent to kiss her lips, growling against her skin. “I love it.”
“Why are we still on the beach?” she hummed.
He squeezed her hand. “Race you.”
He let her win. She had the keys to her condominium anyway.
The moment they were inside, his lips fused to hers. Her nimble fingers freed the buttons on his shirt, and she pushed it back off his shoulders, her hands exploring his sensitive skin. He broke the kiss just long enough to help her out of her shirt and bra before gathering her back into his arms, moaning as her soft breasts pressed against his chest. The jaguar inside of him growling, possessive. She was his. He ran his hand up her side, worshipping every curve of her body.